Cunard has announced the upcoming appointment of TUI executive Katie McAlister as its new president.  She joins the cruise line in August after 20 years with TUI where she is currently chief marketing officer, UK & Ireland. "We are delighted to have someone of Katie's calibre join Cunard at this vital time of expansion,” said Carnival UK president Sture Myrmell. "Her commercial and operational experience as well as digital transformation expertise will ensure brand and growth opportunities are maximised.” McAlister started at TUI in 1998 and held various roles including overseas delivery, commercial, digital and marketing. She is a member of the UK & Ireland board and leads sales channels and marketing in the UK & Ireland for TUI, First Choice and Marella Cruises. “This was an unrivalled opportunity to join an iconic travel company at a key point in its history," she said.

Cunard will celebrate King Charles' coronation with a range of toyalty-themed activities on all three of its Queens. An exclusive Coronation dinner menu is planned for the evening of Saturday 6 May. It features a selection of specially curated dishes. Specially designed cocktails will be available to toast the King, including a "Coronation Oath" made with Prosecco, White Vermouth, Grapefruit and Cardamom Bitters and a "Monarch Martini" using Cunard's 3 Queens Gin. All three ships will be at sea for the big day and will broadcast the ceremony live into the ships'' Royal Court Theatres and stateroom TVs. Queen Elizabeth guests will be just starting their nine-night tour of Southern Japan and Taiwan. The Queen Victoria will be returning from a 12-night voyage around the Canary Islands. A new Coronation Celebration voyage on Queen Mary 2 is sailing round-trip from Southampton to Cunard's spiritual home port, Liverpool. Cunard's Insights programme across the fleet will feature royal commentator Dickie Arbiter, historian Caroline Aston and etiquette expert Grant Harrold. Each ship will also host a deck walk in honour of The Big Help Out on Monday 8 May to raise money for youth charity The Prince's Trust. To date, Cunard has raised over £2.7 million for the Trust. Cunard's royal connections date back to August 1861, when Prince Alfred sailed from Halifax to Liverpool on Cunard's SS Arabia. Meanwhile, Cunard just celebrated the float out of Queen Anne with a milestone ceremony in Italy.

Cunard is sailing back to South America in 2025. It marks the first time since 2020 the line will offer a South America cruise. Brazil, Chile and Ecuador are on the itinerary when Queen Victoria sails from Southampton, for 78 nights, in January 2025. Its roundtrip South American Discovery voyage takes in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro plus Patagonia and the Chilean fjords. The sailing will also include stops in the Peruvian city of Callao, and the Brazilian city of Salvador. South America cruise shore excursions will comprise Brazil’s Tijuca rain forest, learning to surf in Buzios, and trekking to Chile’s Petrohue Falls. Agents can visit www.ShineRewardsClub.com for the latest Cunard news and information. To mark Cunard's 2024 Alaska and 2025 voyages going on sale, agents earn double Shine points for these bookings through 31 March.  

Cunard is on a two-day travel agent sales blitz to reach over 150 travel agents. A 15-strong team will travel this week to 70 travel agent stores. They will update agents on the cruise line's winter 2025 programme which goes on sale from 15 March. Along with information and agent collateral, they are giving away Shine reward points. It is the cruise line’s biggest ever on-the-road campaign. Tom Mahoney, Director of UK Sales said: “Travel agents are critical to our success, and this record-breaking sales blitz is just one of many initiatives.”    

  Embark on an extraordinary adventure next year thanks to luxury cruise line Cunard’s new programme, which features Queen Elizabeth’s highly anticipated Alaska 2024 season, Queen Anne’s maiden world voyage and a South American adventure aboard Queen Victoria sailing in early 2025.   Voyages will be available to book from 1pm GMT on 15 March exclusively for Cunard World Club Members. General sale begins at 1pm on 16 March. The programme includes over 130 voyages to 159 destinations across Cunard’s four Queens, including 30 maiden calls for Queen Anne and five fleet maiden calls for Queen Elizabeth.   All four Queens   Embark on an extraordinary 38-night adventure in June 2024, starting with a trip around the Mediterranean on board Queen Victoria, then embarking on Queen Anne for a voyage from Rome to Southampton before travelling across the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2 and then flying to Vancouver to meet Queen Elizabeth for the final leg in Alaska.   Queen Elizabeth   Departing from Vancouver on a series of nine and 11-night roundtrip voyages between May and September 2024, Queen Elizabeth invites guests to immerse themselves in a world of skyscraper-tall glaciers and mirror-like waters. Captivating itineraries offer a mixture of scenic cruising with iconic ports of call, including Ketchikan and Sitka, where guests can discover the vibrant cultures and local traditions of Alaska. Eight voyages will visit the jewel in Alaska’s crown, the Glacier Bay National Park, whilst four voyages will visit another stunning highlight, the Hubbard Glacier.   From early October, Queen Elizabeth will sail a mixture of short and long voyages in Australian waters before heading to Japan, where highlights include a nine-night Golden Week voyage and a 19-night Grand Voyage to Nagasaki, Yokohama – the gateway to neon-lit Tokyo, and Osaka.   Queen Anne   Cunard’s latest programme will also include a number of firsts for its newest ship Queen Anne. In January 2025, she’ll embark on her maiden Transatlantic Crossing, going westbound from Southampton to New York, before heading off on her first-ever World Voyage. Guests can experience the trip of a lifetime, spending 111 nights on board, visiting more than 30 ports in five continents. Nine overnight calls are also included, in ports such as San Francisco, Honolulu and Singapore, offering guests further opportunities to explore these destinations.   Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria   Between January and May 2025, the fleet’s flagship Queen Mary 2 will combine her unique Transatlantic crossings with visits to multiple sun-kissed destinations across Europe and the Americas, while Queen Victoria embarks on an incredible 78-night South American adventure from Southampton to the warm shores of Brazil, Chile, and Ecuador.   Sture Myrmell, President, Carnival UK, said: “We’re so excited to share our newest programme featuring some fantastic itineraries and – with over 130 to choose from – you’ll certainly be spoiled for choice. Whether you want to wander Europe’s historic streets on a short break, channel your adventurous side trying street food across Asia, or savour the sunsets in Hawaii, Cunard has a voyage for you.   “Better still, when you’re not off exploring a new destination, you can relax in luxury on board, enjoy fascinating Insight talks, innovative theatre and a variety of fine dining options. However you choose to spend your time, you can savour every destination both from aboard and spending time exploring ashore.”   For more information about Cunard, or to book a voyage, visit www.cunard.com.   Agents can visit www.ShineRewardsClub.com for the latest Cunard news and information, as well as to earn Shine points for bookings and training. To celebrate Cunard's 2024 Alaska and 2025 voyages going on sale, agents will earn double Shine points for every booking made by 31 March on these new voyages.

Cunard has doubled its Fam trip programme for 2023. It will host agents on eight separate voyages, double the number it ran in 2022. Cunard is offering places for 160 travel agents. Itineraries include a Norwegian Fjords voyage aboard Queen Mary 2 and a fly-cruise from Barcelona to Rome on Queen Victoria. There is also an invitation-only Alaska cruise. Agents can view the full list of Fam trips and register via the Shine Rewards Club. Tom Mahoney, Director of UK Sales, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have doubled the number of agents we’ll be hosting this year.” “We know that once agents have sailed with us, they feel a greater affinity with Cunard.”

Cunard announced a partnership with contemporary circus show company Circa for its Australian and New Zealand season in early 2024. Australia based Circa has a six-week residency aboard Queen Elizabeth. Circa has performed circus shows to over 1.5 million people in 40 countries. “The collaboration promises to be a real treat for our Australian and New Zealand guests,” said Cunard VP, Commercial for Australasia, Matt Gleaves. Circa’s new productions will be curated to suit the Royal Court Theatre. Circa shows run from 1 February 2024 to 10 March 2024.

Cunard had its best first week of January for cruise bookings in a decade. It has seen strong bookings across 2023 and 2024 sailings, with summer itineraries and Queen Anne’s maiden season especially popular. Carnival UK president, Sture Myrmell said, "Following two of our strongest cruise booking periods in 2022, we have seen unparalleled bookings during the start of Wave.” “We’ve increased our marketing investment significantly, including the use of TV advertising for the first time.”

Cunard is offering Alaska cruise guests a Rocky Mountaineer train experience. Guests can extend their Alaska voyage with a three-night post-cruise Rocky Mountaineer package or a four-night tour before embarking in Vancouver. The three-night option takes guests on an eastbound journey from Vancouver to Calgary. The four-night tour goes the opposite direction. Renowned for its GoldLeaf Service, Rocky Mountaineer offers an on board dining room and a full complimentary bar service. Queen Elizabeth’s summer in Alaska offers an Insights Programme featuring Bear Grylls and other explorers. Other highlights include the Alaska Afternoon Tea, the Ice White Ball and a new dining concept called Frontier, which serves Alaska cuisine.

Cunard unveiled its April 2024 summer cruise schedule which goes on sale next week. Cunard World Club members can book the new itineraries from 6 December at 1pm The programme is on general sale on 7 December. It features 190 new voyages across 90 destinations worldwide. It includes several late evenings and overnight stays, in Reykjavik, Tromso, Rotterdam and Quebec. Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Anne, will set sail on 3 May for her seven-night maiden voyage to La Coruna and Lisbon. She will then depart to the Canary Islands before travelling around the British Isles. Queen Anne will then sail from Southampton on itineraries to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, and the Canary Islands. Queen Mary 2 undertakes 20 crossings between Southampton and New York. Queen Victoria will spend summer in the Mediterranean, offering over 75 fly-cruise itineraries. Sture Myrmell, President, Carnival UK, said: “Summer 2024 is a particularly exciting time for Cunard as our new ship Queen Anne joins the fleet.”

The first day of booking for new Cunard ship Queen Anne proved to be the busiest booking day on record. The maiden voyage, a seven-night sailing from Southampton departing 4 January 2024, has sold out and demand for Grill Suites proved especially strong. The three busiest booking periods for Cunard on record have now happened since March 2021. They were the launch of the UK sailings as the brand returned to service, the launch of the summer 2023 programme and now the launch of Queen Anne’s maiden programme. Sture Myrmell, Carnival UK president, said, “Since we’ve started to unveil details of the next in a fine line of Cunard ships, the reaction to Queen Anne from guests and travel agents alike has been phenomenal.  The first day of sales shows the incredible strength of demand for our new ship and the Cunard brand has never been stronger.” Myrmell added, “To all our trade partners, thank you for your ongoing incredible support and for helping make the launch of sales for Queen Anne such a success.”

Cunard’s news ship Queen Anne will call at more than 32 ports around the world during her maiden season. The maiden voyage is to Lisbon. Sailing roundtrip from Southampton on January 4, 2024, it embarks on  a seven-night voyage with an overnight port call in Lisbon On her return to Southampton, the newest Queen will be joined by sister ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. Following her maiden voyage it will sail in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Northern Europe as well as an Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing. Queen Anne offers a 35-night Caribbean voyage calling at Barbados and St Lucia amongst others, departing Southampton on January 27, 2024. In late March Queen Anne sails a 16-night Western Mediterranean voyage including calls at Lisbon, Cadiz and Rome. “Our new voyages bring opportunities to explore all corners of the world in luxurious surroundings,” said Matt Gleaves, Vice President, Commercial, North America. Queen Anne's maiden sailings are available to book from May 17, 2022. The ship launches in early 2024.